Three more suspects and suspects’ friend arrested in London ‘beheading’ case

Police in London, England arrested three more men on Saturday in connection with the May 22 fatal attack on a British soldier, while counter-terrorism authorities also picked up a friend of one of the suspects on separate terrorism-related charges.

The Huffington Post UK reported that three unidentified men, a 21-year-old, a 24-year-old and a 28-year-old, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the death of the service member, identified as 25-year-old Drummer Lee Rigby. Police used a taser on the 21-year-old man and the 28-year-old man while apprehending them. Neither suspect was seriously injured.

Police said the two men accused of carrying out the attack, identified in reports as 22-year-old Michael Oluwatobi Adebowale and 28-year-old Michael Adebolajo, were in stable condition after being shot by authorities before being arrested. The two men allegedly hit Rigby with a car before attacking him with a knife and a meat cleaver.

CNN reported on Saturday that Abu Nusaybah, who identified himself as a friend of Adebolajo’s, was also arrested on Friday night after saying in an interview with the BBC that Adebolajo had been approached by MI5, the British intelligence service and offered a position. Nusaybah said Adebolajo rejected the offer.

“Initially they wanted to ask [Adebolajo] if he knew certain individuals,” Nusaybah said. “That was the initial issue. But after he said that he didn’t know these individuals, what he said is if he’d be interested in working for them.”

Nusaybah also said Adebolajo was supposedly recruited following a trip to Kenya during which he was detained by Kenyan troops.

“He told me he was physically assaulted,” Nusaybah said. “He told me he was sexually threatened. And he indicated, from what I know of him, when he said ‘I feel ashamed to tell you what happened to me,’ as far as I understand that, it’s sexual abuse.”

Without mentioning Nusaybah by name, police said a 31-year-old man was arrested on counter-terrorism charges Friday night.

About the Author

Arturo R. García is the managing editor at Racialicious.com. He is based in San Diego, California and has written for both print and broadcast media, including contributions to GlobalComment.com, The Root and Comment Is Free. Follow him on Twitter at @ABoyNamedArt